


Came Out of Nowhere But You Felt Like Home

by Patchwork_Author



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Bobbi-centric, College AU, F/M, also feat hunter and some huntingbird for a while, feat. skye/daisy and jemma, watchu gonna do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 22:37:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6258508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patchwork_Author/pseuds/Patchwork_Author
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bobbi's trying to keep her long-distance relationship with her boyfriend afloat while balancing schoolwork, and living with Skye and Jemma. The last thing she needs is a blossoming...something with a very tall guy she met at the gym. Hunter's been in her life forever, but Mack is steady, a good friend (as much as she has to insist that's all he is). In all the futures she'd imagined for herself, she'd never once imagined herself here, but at the end of the day, she's not sure she'd trade it for the world. </p><p>She's just looking for something good.</p><p>College AU fun times.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Bobbi and Lance Hunter got together when they were sixteen. She’d just won her volleyball game, and he’d waited after to congratulate her, but went about it in the most ass-backwards way, and they started bickering before Bobbi closed the gap between them. They’d made out furiously for a few minutes before her parents came out. She’d been able to pull away before they saw, and slipped her number to him.

They’d broken up about a thousand times, but always found their way back to each other. Junior Prom had been a turning point. They’d been fighting – Hunter didn’t want to go at all ¬– but when he’d shown up with flowers and an apology, they’d gone together and entered a more stable period of their relationship for a while.

They had been a bit of a high school power couple. They weren’t mushy or anything. They did win Prom King and Queen their senior year. They did not win Most Likely to Get Married, which pissed Hunter off and caused him to pick a fight with the yearbook editor, even though she had no control over it.

Bobbi knew that college would be hard, though. She’d be going off to a university on one side of the country, and he’d be going to college somewhere, well, more in the middle. At least he wasn’t going back to England, or anything.

\--

Her first year at college went fine. She and Hunter made it over the first bumps of a long-distance relationship. Her roommate, Skye Coulson, ended up being one of her best friends. Her bio lab partner, Jemma Simmons, also became one of her best friends.

The summer was rough, though, because she’d been so used to not being with Hunter that suddenly being with him all of the time for three months straight led to a lot of bickering.

Moving into her apartment with Skye and Jemma the next fall was almost a relief.

She made the mistake of telling Skye that when they were a couple of beers into the night.

“Dump him,” Skye said.

Bobbi fixed her with an even look. “Skye.”

“What?” Skye asked, taking the final sip from her bottle. “I told you last year and I’ll tell you again now, you can do better.”

Bobbi shook her head. “You don’t understand.”

“Don’t I? I cut Miles loose when I realized we were barreling down a crash course,” Skye said. “Hurt like a bitch, but I did it, and I’m better off for it.”

Bobbi smiled. “Hunter and I aren’t on a crash course. He’s a good guy, Skye.”

“Mhm, yeah. That’s why he asks you if we’ve made out yet every time he calls.”

Bobbi cringed. She really hoped Skye hadn’t remembered that.

“Look, I’m a big girl. I can handle myself. If it ever comes down to that, you know I’ll let him go. But it’s fine. We’re fine.”

Skye shrugged and got up, heading towards her room. “I know, I know. Just giving my two cents.”

“You give everyone your two cents. You keep riding Jemma’s ass about dating Fitz,” Bobbi said, running a hand through her hair.

Skye poked her head out of her bedroom door, glaring at Bobbi half-playfully. “You want them together as much as I do. I heard you talking to Jemma about it. You’re not innocent, Morse!”

Long distance was harder this year, Bobbi quickly learned. She was still trying to decide between a biochem or criminology major, and her science classes were a bitch. Any down time she had was spent with her friends or working out, which meant calls to Hunter were squeezed in when she had five seconds, or answered hazily when he called her at 3 am, which she didn’t always appreciate.

She did appreciate the effort, though.

\--

“Lance, I gotta go,” Bobbi said, balancing her phone and her textbooks, and her grocery bag as she tried to find her key to get into the apartment.

“Hang on, I didn’t tell you the best part!” Hunter said. Right when she was about to crumble, the door opened and Jemma stood there, smiling, and ready to grab the groceries.

Bobbi mouthed a quick ‘thank you’ and stepped into the apartment. “Can’t I see the best part when I catch up on DVR?”

“Alright, alright. But I’ll call you later. I want to hear about how the Chem test went.”

“It was a bio test, but it’s a deal. Love you. Bye,” Bobbi said and hung up.

Jemma was putting away the groceries and smiling to herself. “Don’t say anything,” Bobbi warned playfully.

“Me? I wasn’t going to say anything,” Jemma said innocently. They both chuckled, but then Jemma’s smile faded. “Does he know? About the stress?”

Bobbi shrugged. “What? No, he doesn’t want to hear about that.”

“Bobbi, he’s your boyfriend.”

Bobbi had never been good at wearing her heart on her sleeve. Even with Hunter. Especially with Hunter.

“I’ve been coping on my own just fine, thanks. Speaking of coping, it’s time for my run, I’m gonna head to the gym.”

Jemma waved her off and Bobbi was gone.

She found her treadmill, put in her earbuds and got to work. She tried not to think about school or Hunter or anything. Each time she did, she was increasing the speed without even thinking about it. She didn’t even really realize it.

That was, until her old knee injury acted up for a second and she almost went flying off of the treadmill. Almost. She had enough grace simply to stumble, and even that wasn’t so bad, as someone caught her.

Breathless and sweaty, Bobbi stood up, pulling out her earbuds to face the person who caught her.

“I am so sorry,” she said as she turned around.

She was used to looking down when she spoke to people, but she found herself actually having to look up to talk to the guy who’d caught her. He was tall. And very well-muscled. He looked like he could bench-press a small hatchback.

“Hey, it’s fine. You okay?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah. Old knee injury plus a high speed. Not a good combo. It’s what I get for not paying attention,” she said.

He nodded, smiling a little, like he was kind of laughing at her, but not in a mean way. It was surprisingly nice.

“Maybe you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” he said.

“Nobody gets anywhere by taking it easy,” she replied.

He laughed, shaking his head. “I didn’t say take it easy. There’s a line between not pushing yourself and just beating yourself up.

Bobbi gave him a look as she reached for her water bottle. “I love getting life advice from random strangers at the gym.”

“A random stranger who just saved you from further injury,” he corrected, but not in an annoying or harsh way. It was conversational. She wasn’t used to that. “I’m Alphonso Mackenzie. Mack.”

He extended his hand and Bobbi reached out to shake it. “Barbara Morse. Bobbi.”

Mack smiled, let go of her hand, which had almost been dwarfed by his, and made his way over to the equipment he was going to use. Bobbi had already been running for an hour so she’d figure she’d call it night.

\--

Bobbi mostly forgot all about Mack. It’s only ‘mostly’ because his oh-so-sage words of wisdom kept popping into her mind when she’d work out.

She was doing a kickboxing workout in the back about a week later when the door opened and he stepped through.

“Oh, sorry I didn’t – Hey. Bobbi, right?” he said, once he realized it was her. Bobbi paused her workout.

“Yeah. Alphonso,” she said, just to watch him cringe, which he did. She smiled then and added, “Mack.”

“I’ve never seen anyone come back here before. I thought I was like the only guy who came back here.”

“Same. Guess we were both wrong,” Bobbi said. “Sometimes running isn’t enough. Gotta beat out my stress. Boxing. Kickboxing, whatever I need.”

Mack nodded. “I understand the feeling. The punching bag isn’t a great opponent though.”

Bobbi made a noise. “That’s an understatement.”

“I’d offer to spar with you sometime, but if you fight like you workout…” he trailed off with a one-sided grin that was driving her a little insane.

“You’ll get a better workout, then.”

“Fair point.”

“Another day, though. I should be heading back to my room. I have a lab report due in two days,” Bobbi sighed.

“Engineering?”

“Biochem. Maybe. Criminology doesn’t wanna let me go,” Bobbi said with a soft laugh.

Mack nodded, starting to wrap his hands. He was going to stay and box, of course. Bobbi almost wished she could linger.

“I was kinda hoping we could get you on our team,” he joked.

“You’re engineering?”

“Mechanical.”

He probably had a couple classes with Fitz then. Well, depending on what year he was.

“I really should run,” she said.

He waved her off and made his way to one of the punching bags. “Go. Get that lab done.”

Bobbi nodded and grabbed her stuff. “We will spar at some point, though.”

“Mhm, let me know in advance, so I can make sure I can recover from getting my ass whooped, okay?”

Bobbi laughed and headed out of the gym, smiling to herself.

\--

“Bob. Bob, are you even listening?”

Bobbi blinked, remembering Hunter on the other line. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I just spaced out for a second.”

There was a sigh. “It’s alright,” he said. He paused. “Is everything okay over there? You’ve been really wonky lately.”

“Yeah, yeah it’s fine,” she said. She remembered Jemma nagging her about opening up more. “It’s just, I’m drowning a little. Testing out of Bio 100 last year seemed like a blessing but is biting me in the ass a this year. The level I’m at is way harder. If Jemma wasn’t there, I think I’d be going insane. And even that’s hard because I may be a damn good student, but she’s a prodigy. Maybe I should just be a criminology major.”

“If that’s what you want,” he said casually. Now he was the one half-listening.  
Bobbi rolled her eyes. “Lance.”

“What?”

“You prod me to talk to you, and when I do, you don’t even listen?”

“I know that tone,” he said, and Bobbi was about to retort but he kept going, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to space out. It’s just a hell of a lot harder to actually connect over the phone, you know?”

Bobbi softened again. “Yeah, I do know. It sucks.”

“It does suck. Maybe I can come up for a weekend soon, ” he said.

Bobbi leaned back in her bed. “That’d be nice. I’m not sure when will work because I’m so busy, but that’d be really nice.”

“Oh, screw busy. We’ll make time. We need this. Skype sex does not help all that much.”

Bobbi smiled, though the compliment felt a little off. She had to agree, though. Skype sex did not cut it. As for ‘making time’…it was impractical, but a nice idea. “Sounds good. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

She hung up and rolled over.

\--

“Is there a reason I came home to find you eating ice cream out of the carton and reading trashy magazines? I thought that was reserved for emergencies.”

Bobbi looked up at Jemma, feeling humiliated.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Jemma looked at her sternly.

“Don’t tell Skye. I don’t want to hear it. But this visit…it was rough, Jem.”

Jemma nodded sympathetically.

Hunter had found a time to come up. It hadn’t been a great time for Bobbi, but she knew that he was making sacrifices to come up, so she could make a few as well. They’d immediately jumped into bed. And then, well, then they’d immediately started fighting.

“I, uh, overheard some of your…discussions,” Jemma said delicately.

Bobbi laughed harshly. “That’s a way to put it. I don’t even know what we were fighting about half of the time.”

“I overheard one about a taco stand, one about him not trusting you with the biology tutor, and another about how everyone’s needs are not being met. Oh, and another about him leaving wet towels on the floor.”

“God, most of those are so idiotic! We’re so idiotic. This is just like high school all over again,” Bobbi groaned, dropping her head into her heads. When she came back up, she just shook her head. “Every time we broke up in high school, it was horrible. He’d call me a hellbeast. To everyone who would listen. Even those who wouldn’t. We’d bicker when we were together, we’d bicker when we weren’t. And then, eventually, we’d bicker so hard we’d have sex and wind up together again.”

Jemma furrowed her brow. “Sounds like an interesting cycle.”

“It’s not a cycle. It’s a rollercoaster. I just thought we were past this, you know?” she said, taking a shot of fireball. “And it’s not like the sex is fantastic, you know? Like it’s good. It’s really good. Sometimes it’s great. But I’m just as capable on my own.”

“Are you sure that’s-”

Bobbi sighed. “It’s not important. And it’s good, like I said. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just tense. He left on bad terms. I hate when that happens. I just wish I could talk to him.”

Jemma nodded and helped Bobbi clean up, which Bobbi really appreciated. When they were done, Bobbi headed back to her room to go pass out.

She opened her laptop and Skype dialed Hunter once she knew that his plane would’ve landed.

His face appeared on the screen and she felt relieved. He didn’t decline.

“It’s late, Bob.”

“I know. I just, I had to talk to you.”

Lance nodded and they just stared at the pixelated image of the other for a while.

“I wish you were here,” she said.

Hunter ran his hands over his face. “Me too. I don’t like how we left things, Bob.”

“Me neither. Do you think I like this? I wish…I wish it were easier.”

“We’ll find a way. To make it easier. After everything we’ve been through, I know that much,” he said.

After ‘everything’. It was a lot of time, but it wasn’t a lot of life. But she nodded anyway, feeling relief swell in her at his words. He was her home base. It was complicated, but he was familiar, and she loved that about him.

“We always knew this was going to be hard.”

“I know,” he nodded. “Love you, Bob.”

Bobbi smiled. “Love you too.”

\--

“Fitz? You here?” Bobbi was walking through the engineering labs, looking for Fitz. He’d asked her to print some things for him, for an experiment proposal, and now she couldn’t even find him. Great. Not like she had her own things to do. “Oh come on,” she muttered, and almost walked straight into Mack, which was quite a feat since he was so tall.

“Bobbi.”

“Mack.” She said. “Sorry. What are you…oh, engineering. Right,” she said.

Mack nodded. “Yup. You looking for Turbo?”

“Who?”

“Leo Fitz?”

Bobbi burst out laughing in spite of herself. “Yes I am. I have papers for him. You call him Turbo?”

Mack shrugged. “It’s a habit. His work is in workshop C. There should be a folder on the door. Down the hall.”

Bobbi nodded and walked a few doors down and dropped off the papers. When she turned around, Mack was still in the hall.

“You and Fitz ever work together?” she asked.

He shrugged and walked back into his workshop space, and Bobbi followed.

“From time to time. He’s a damn prodigy,” he said, looking over a schematic.

Bobbi gave a knowing nod. “Yeah, I’m surrounded by those,” she said, rolling her eyes.  
Mack turned his head to look at her, quirking an eyebrow. “That almost sounded like you putting yourself down.”

Bobbi folded her arms, half-defensively. “I’m not. I know I’m smart as hell,” she said.

“Uh huh.”

“I do. Doesn’t mean that it doesn’t suck to have to put in twice as much effort as them,” she said.

Mack grunted and walked over to what looked like an engine. “I know the feeling. Wrench, please,” he said. Bobbi handed him the wrench and hopped up on the counter. She really should’ve been going. Then again, she didn’t have anything really urgent. And it wasn’t like Mack seemed to mind.

The labs seemed empty. Who else was going to hand him wrenches?

“You still have not let me spar with you,” she said.

He laughed. “Call me a coward.”

“Oh come on. I’ve seen you in action. You’re not bad. A bit slow, your reaction time could use some work, but you’ve got a lot of power behind you. You could probably knock someone out in one hit,” she said, teasingly.

“You’ve been watching me box, Morse?”

“Checking out my opponent.”

“Mhm.” Mack said, but when he stood up, she could see he was just giving her a hard time. “So, how do you know Turbo? Also, I need the wire strippers,” he said.

Bobbi nodded and handed him the tool as he passed her back the wrench. “Friend of a friend last year. Now we’re kind of in the same…cluster of friends, I guess. And he’s a good friend to have. Even if he does eat most of my food.”

“He does that to you too?” Mack chuckled. “I learned a looong time ago to hide my snacks.”

“Yeah, well, it’s hard to hide my whole kitchen when he comes over,” Bobbi grinned.

Mack laughed, low and deep. “I do see how that could be a problem.”

He stood up then, setting down the wire strippers. “Well, I’m done for the night. I’m gonna head out and get a drink. Want to come?”

Bobbi hesitated.

“I’m not asking you out,” he clarified. “And the bar doesn’t card.”

“How did you-”

“Just a guess.”

Bobbi nodded. Yeah, she could use a drink. “Lead the way.”

She hopped off the counter and followed Mack outside. That was the good thing about school in the city – everything was close by.

“You still stuck between biochem and criminology?” he asked as they walked.

“Yeah. It keeps me up at night sometimes. It feels like I’m deciding my whole life, which I hate,” she said.

“Understood. They don’t have to be mutually exclusive fields, though. They could work together.”

“True,” Bobbi said. “But I’d rather eat my own foot than double major. Biochem is hard enough on its own.”

“What about a criminology minor? It’s possible, and more manageable. It’s just an idea, though. I can’t solve the issue for you,” Mack said. He stopped in front of the bar and held the door open for her. “But I can help.”

“I appreciate it,” Bobbi said, leading the way into the bar. They sat at the bar, towards the corner, where it was just them, and the bartender.

“Bulleit rye, on the rocks,” Mack ordered, sliding the money across the bar. Good to know he had good taste in alcohol. She’d hated the shitty alcohol that freshman were forced to deal with. Good thing Skye made them all fakes for sophomore year.

“Make it two,” Bobbi said, smiling, and the bartender. Their drinks were slid across the bar and they clinked their glasses together.

“To a new friendship,” Mack said.

“To future sparring partners.”

Mack rolled his eyes, but it was exaggerated. A joke. The kind that spoke to Bobbi. She wasn’t sure where Mack had come from, but he was just the person she needed lately.

\--

“So you literally fell into this guy’s arms, you keep running into him, you get a drink together, you guys spar now, he’s nice, you said he’s attractive-”

“Only because you were beating me with a pillow until I said what he looked like!” Bobbi interjected.

“Whatever,” Skye said, waving her hand. “Point is, you aren’t hooking up with him? Are you crazy?”

“I have a boyfriend,” Bobbi reminded her, flipping through a magazine. Skye grabbed another slice of pizza, rolling her eyes.

“And you know how I feel about Hunter.”

“Skye,” Jemma interrupted. “You and Bobbi might have different ways of approaching this. She has a boyfriend, you have a rotation.”

Skye coughed on her pizza. “I don’t have a rotation!”

Jemma and Bobbi exchanged a look. “Lincoln on Mondays and every other Friday. Trip on Wednesdays and Sundays,” they said in unison.

“That doesn’t prove anything! Besides, we’re talking about Bobbi. At least tell me what his name is!”

Bobbi shook her head. “Oh no, I’m not telling you that. You, with that information? Who knows what you’d do.”

“You do like him though, right? Not just as a friend?” Skye asked.

“I don’t know! No, probably. I’m with Hunter. I love him. I can just be friends with a guy. In fact, I’ve never been friends with a guy first, so I’m used to separating friends and boyfriends,” Bobbi said defensively.

“We know, Bobbi,” Jemma said, giving Skye a pointed look. “I’m honestly just happy you have someone you feel like you can talk to about your stress and stuff. Besides us obviously.”

\--

“Bob, I love you so much, you’re amazing.”

Bobbi blinked her eyes, looking at her phone. “Hunter, it’s 3 am. I have class in five hours,” she said groggily.

“I know but I just had to tell you how bloody much I love you.”

His words were slurring. It was three am. He was calling to tell her he loves her.

He was drunk.

“Hunter how many beers have you had?”

“A lot, but that doesn’t matter. I love you. So much,” he said, sounding sleepier by the moment.

Bobbi sighed, rolling over into her back. “I love you too.”

“You don’t sound like you love me too.”

“I do.”

“Do you?”

“I wouldn’t be with you if I didn’t love you,” she said, perhaps a little too firmly. He let out a snort. He was upset.

“Or maybe something else funny happened. Either way, she was relieved because he didn’t complain any more.

“That’s nice,” he said. “I wish I was with you right now. I’d kiss the hell out of you.”

“Mmm, no you wouldn’t,” she said, smiling. “You’d taste like Natty Light, I wouldn’t let you anywhere near me.”

“Well, that’s just rude.”

“I’ve gotta go, Hunter. I have an early class.”

Hunter let out a noise that sounded a lot like a whine. “Oh, skip it. It’s just one class.”

“It’s one of my hardest classes.”

“Bob-”

“Say Goodnight, Lance.”

“Goodnight Lance.”

Bobbi rolled her eyes and hung up before burying herself under the covers again, praying that she could get more sleep before her class.

\--

“I declared my major.”

“Is this the time to talk about that?”

Bobbi ducked a hit from Mack, sweeping her leg, but he jumped over it.

“What, can’t talk and spar?” she asked with a smile. He pushed her up against the wall, looking down at her. Bobbi felt her chest rise and fall as she panted. She ducked his reach and spun around behind him, landing a few hits.

Mack rolled his eyes, jabbing a few times. Bobbi feinted left and when he fell for it, swept his leg again, and Mack went down.

“Damn, Bobbi.”

She smiled, helping him up. “Told you. You’re slower than I am.”

Mack shrugged, tossing her a towel and a water bottle. “So what’d you decide? I know we talked about it last time we sparred, but you still seemed pretty indecisive.”

“Biochem major with a criminology minor. You were right. They’re not mutually exclusive.”

Mack pulled her into a hug. A warm, sweaty hug. But she didn’t feel like it was gross. After all, she was sweaty too.

“I’m proud of you. That wasn’t an easy decision.”

“Thank you. Not everyone felt that way,” she said.

Lance. Lance didn’t feel that way. He’d said. ‘Are you sure you can do both?’, granted it was followed by ‘because I know how stressed you are, and it would be rotten if it got worse’, but it still felt shitty. He did congratulate her when she declared. No, he was good. Supportive.

“Well, I’m in your corner.”

“And I appreciate it. My roommates are throwing a tiny party as celebration. I know you don’t know them and it could be weird but would you want to come?” she asked.

“Are your friends a bunch of idiots?” he asked, half-joking.

“No more than normal.”

“Then I’ll be there.”

Bobbi smiled. “Thanks, Mack.”

He nodded, and Bobbi felt, for the first time in a while, like she could just relax.

\--

“What’d you get?” Bobbi asked, looking at the alcohol that Skye had bought.

“Tequila for shots, just in case. Corona.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, Skye.”

Skye shrugged. “No prob. Oh! And Jem and I got a cake.”

Bobbi smiled. This was fun. She was going to have a good time. Fitz was already on the couch, with a massive bowl of pretzels in his lap as he and Jemma talked about some paper they both had just turned in. Skye was setting up the bar.

Trip and Lincoln were both on their way. Skye was lucky they both got along and were good guys who were fine with a ‘friends with benefits’ relationship.

“What time is your guy getting here?”

Bobbi rolled her eyes. “He isn’t ‘my guy’, Skye.”

“You know what I meant.”

Bobbi nodded, fishing around for a pretzel from the bag that Fitz had nearly emptied. “Mack should be here in like half an hour.”

Skye stopped cutting limes for a second. “Mack? What kind of name- wait. Mack as in Alphonso Mackenzie?”

Bobbi furrowed her brow. “Yeah, how do you know Mack?”

“Mack is my TA. He’s a first year grad student.”

Bobbi frowned. “Mack is your TA? How the hell does he put up with you?” she asked smiling. “Is it gonna be weird for you, partying with your TA?”

Skye shrugged. “Nah. He’s pretty relaxed in class, too. He doesn’t take shit, but he’s not a hardass. Besides, he’s only the TA, not the professor.”

Lincoln and Trip arrived, interrupting their conversation.

“Last one to declare, huh, Bobbi?” Lincoln asked.

“Hey, she gave us a reason to have a party, you should be thanking her,” Trip said, pulling Bobbi in for a hug.

“Yeah, Lincoln, listen to Trip,” Skye said, slinging her arms over both Trip and Lincoln’s shoulders and steering them out of the entryway and into the apartment.

Bobbi was about the join them when there was a knock on the door. She opened it and saw Mack standing there.

“Hi,” she said, smiling.

“Hey.” He lifted up a bottle of bourbon. “Happy Major Declaration?”

Bobbi laughed. “You didn’t have to…but I’m so glad you did,” she said. “Oh, um, before you come in, quick disclaimer: We just had the realization that you are the TA for one of my roommates. Is that going to be weird for you?”

Mack shrugged. “Don’t think so, who is it?”

“Skye Coulson?”

Mack laughed. “Oh that trouble maker. No, Tremors and I should be fine.”

Bobbi cocked her head. “Tremors? How is that even applicable? And how do you have nicknames for all of my friends?”

She stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind her, but they both hovered in the entryway.

“She kept knocking shit over first month, so she became Tremors. And I have nicknames for everybody,” Mack explained. Bobbi almost laughed. Yeah, she could see Skye doing that.

“Not me.”

“Bobbi is already a nickname.”

Bobbi had to give him that. They walked into the living room, where the beer had already started flowing.

“Everybody, this is Mack. Mack, this is everybody. I believe a few of you already know each other,” she said, looking at Skye, and then at Fitz.

“Hey Teach!” Skye called, waving. Mack laughed and Skye crossed the room, handing Mack a beer. “Is this breaking like 600 school rules?” she asked.

Mack shrugged. “We’re all students, right? And I’m not providing you with the beer.”

Skye clinked her glass against his. “And this is why you’re the TA and I’m the student.”

There was a clinking sound as Jemma stood up, tapping a knife against her beer bottle. Bobbi rolled her eyes affectionately.

“Now that everyone is here, I would like to propose a toast. Bobbi had a lot of stress lately, but she overcame it and she’s going to be utterly brilliant. And because of her, we get to all get together during this hectic time of year! To Bobbi!” she said.

“To Bobbi!” they all said. Mack reached over and squeezed her shoulder, smiling. Bobbi returned his smile.

He didn’t drink his beer though. She had a feeling he was waiting for the bourbon, and she did not blame him.

“So how did it never come up that you’re a grad student? And a TA?” she asked.

“I was just thinking the same thing. I guess I figured when we went out to the bar, it seemed obvious that I was older than you, but it’s only a three year difference, and I was a Junior undergrad when I turned 21, so I guess I could’ve just been a junior or senior,” Mack reasoned. “Anyway. Let’s redo it all. Bobbi Morse, nice to meet you. I’m Mack, I’m a first year grad student here, did undergrad here too, getting my masters in mechanical engineering. How’s that?”

Bobbi smiled. “Very good.”

“Hey Mack!” Fitz called from across the room, waving an xbox controller in the air. “Come play! Trip and I are just settling in.”

Mack looked down at Bobbi. “Go. You know you want to,” she said.

He laughed and walked over, sitting down on the couch next to Fitz and shaking hands with Trip as they met.

Bobbi was alone all of two seconds before Skye and Jemma appeared on either side of her.

“I do not want to hear it.”

“He is very aesthetically pleasing, and I’m leaving it at that. I know you love Hunter, but it did need to be said,” Jemma said.

“I’ll grant you that,” Bobbi admitted.

“If I’d known it was Mack you were talking about this whole time I would’ve pushed you so much harder. The guy is great!” Skye said.

“I’m not going to date your TA, Skye,” Bobbi said. “Besides, I’m not even looking for a new guy.”

Skye nodded, raising her hands defensively. “Alright, alright. I’ll start to back off,” she said. Then she smiled, looking in Mack’s directions. “Have you seen his arms, though?”

“Skye!” Bobbi snapped.

“You’re behaving horribly, Skye…but you are completely right about his arms,” Jemma admitted.

Bobbi dropped her head into her hands and walked away, going to find Lincoln.

An hour or so later, Mack appeared by her side as she cut up some more limes for people’s corona. He slid the bourbon bottle towards her. He was hovering in a spot that was to her side, but also right behind her. He was warm. Comfortable.

“Should we break into this?” he asked.

She smiled, turning around to face him. “Could not have asked at a better time,” she said. There was a loud cheer from where Fitz and Trip were playing FIFA. “It’s getting loud in here. Follow me,” she said.

She led him through Skye’s room out of one of her windows and onto the fire escape. It was a nice view of some of the campus, and also the city, and a park. They sat out there as Mack got the bottle open. He passed it to Bobbi who took a swig.

“You sprung for the good stuff,” she said, passing it back.

“Yeah, I stopped buying cheap alcohol as soon as I became legal. Don’t love drinking straight out of the bottle, but hey, it’s not a habit, so who cares.”

She smiled, leaning back against the brick wall of the building. “I should’ve known you were a grad student. You’re refreshingly adult. Not boring. Or stuffy, but you just…you’re not in high school,” she said.

Mack gave her a look. “None of us are in high school.”

“Mentally, some people are.”

“I have no idea what you’re ranting about, just so you know,” he said, passing her the bottle.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, taking a sip. “I’ve had the same boyfriend from high school, you know. He goes to a different school. Kind of wish he could’ve been here tonight. I think you two would get along. On the other hand, we wouldn’t be alone out here, and he talks a lot, so this is nice.”

“That’s impressive that you two managed to stay together,” Mack noted.

“It’s hard. But I like to think it’s worth it,” she said.

Mack nodded. “I respect that.”

She smiled. “Thanks. Skye doesn’t. Love the girl to death, but I keep having to hear how she wishes I would dump him.”

“Huh.” Mack rested back against the wall as well, resting his hand on the neck of the bottle, right over Bobbi’s. “Well, I’m definitely not Tremors.”

“Yet another reason for me to keep you around.”

She flexed her hand under his, settling it, enjoying the heat and softness of his own. 

\--

 “You sound terrible.”

 “I’m sick, you could show a little compassion,” Bobbi grumbled into the phone.

 She was bedridden. Thank god her one class on Friday was cancelled, because she did not want to get behind, and now she had a whole weekend to wallow and try to get better.

 “I hate being sick,” she muttered, and closed her eyes to stop the room from spinning.

 “Well, let’s just count our stars I didn’t decide to come up this weekend. That would’ve sucked,” he said. “We both know I’m not the best caretaker in the world.”

 Bobbi laughed. “More like the worst. You never come near me, jerk.”

 "Germs, Bob. Germs!”

 “Well, I do wish you were here,” she said, not sure if she meant it.

 “I don’t.”

 “Hunter!”

 He sighed and Bobbi chuckled. They said their goodbyes and hung up and Bobbi got ready to curl up and feel like crap for the rest of the weekend.

 Jemma came in with a mug of tea before she left for her last class of the day.

 Then Bobbi was alone again, wallowing in her illness.

 There was a knock on her door again and she rolled over onto her stomach, groaning. “Come in.”

 She expected Skye, but Mack walked in, with a bag from right aid. She smiled lazily and pushed herself up on her elbows.

 “Hi. I’m dying.”

 “Hey. You’re being dramatic.”

 Bobbi shrugged. Mack sat on the edge of her bed, digging around in the bag. He pulled out some Gatorade, some nasal spray. “Fever?” he asked.

 “Don’t know.”

 He reached over, resting his hand against her forehead. His hands felt cool. Soft. “Doesn’t feel like it, so that’s good. I’ve got Nyquil, Dayquil. Cough drops. Two spare boxes of tissues. Oh, and some advil for your head.”

 “You didn’t have to do all that,” she said, reaching her hand out for the Gatorade. Mack smiled, resting his hand over hers.

 “I wanted to,” he said simply. “Besides, we have a sparring date Monday, can’t have you calling in sick on me, Barbara.”

 She hated that name. It wasn’t quite so bad when he said it, though.

 The hand that was on hers tightened slightly, pulling her up so she was sitting. He handed her some Dayquil. She remembered being in high school and avoiding having Hunter, or other guys, see her when she was sick. But she didn’t care anymore. She’d grown up. She was just happy she didn’t have to deal with this alone. She swallowed the medication and laid back down.

 “Thanks for taking care of my sorry ass,” she said, smiling a little.

 Mack laughed. “It’s no trouble. And your ass is not sorry.”

 “Mhm.”

 “Get some sleep, Bobbi. I’ll check in on you tomorrow.”

 Bobbi nodded and let her head drop back down to the pillow. God, she was exhausted. She couldn’t wait to recover.


	2. Chapter 2

Bobbi walked into her apartment, expecting Skye or Jemma. She was beyond ready to unwind for the night. She had had a three hour lab that morning and needed to just veg for a little. Maybe go for a workout after. It was quickly apparent, however, that neither Skye nor Jemma were home. But someone else was.

Hunter was.

“Hunter, what are you doing here?”

“Bob! Hi!” he said, walking over to her and kissing her. “Guess what?” he was smiling widely, bigger than she’d seen him smile in ages, actually.

“Um, you’re here?” she asked. That had to be what he was surprising her with. What else was there?

“Yes, but no. That’s not the big thing. I’ve got it,” he said, clapping his hands together. He was almost giddy. She wanted to feel his giddiness, but found that she could only muster up cautiousness, and a little bit of skepticism. What was it that had him this way?

“Got what?”

“I figured out how to fix everything. Fix my life, fix us. We’re going to be happy again,” he said.

Bobbi smiled, a little confused. “Lance, I am happy.” Happy with her life, at least.

“As am I, but not as happy as we were in high school, right? Not together. So I found a solution,” he said. “I’m gonna come here. We’re going to stop the long-distance thing, because it’s clearly not working.”

“What?” Bobbi asked, unable to fully process what he was saying. “You’re transferring?”

He couldn't do that. He wouldn't do that. Would he? She was trying to find some part of her that was excited but she just couldn't process the idea of him being here all the time, with no break. How to balance him, and her friends and workouts and schoolwork. 

“No! I can’t get in here. I’ll get a job, take a few classes before I apply. College was never for me anyway. I like to keep my options open,” he said.

Bobbi lifted her hands to her temples. This was not happening. “Hunter, you can’t drop out of school to fix our relationship. That’s _insane_ ,” she snapped.

“It just might be insane enough to work!” he said, starting to get frustrated. “We’re being spontaneous. But we’re going with our feelings. Or at least, I assume we are, I’m not exactly sure, you haven’t been exactly forthcoming.”

“Forthcoming? I told you about my stress, and you barely reacted,” she said.

“You can’t hold one thing above my head! That’s not fair, Bob.”

Bobbi couldn’t believe him. Not fair? It wasn’t one thing that she was holding onto. It her looking at one of many instances where their relationship was less than perfect. Sure, she could be better about sharing, but it wasn’t like he was good about it those moments she did open up to him.

“You’re acting like a child, Hunter. You’re being unreasonable.”

“Well, I’m dealing with you! God, you know what it’s like arguing with you? You refuse to lose, to listen, to _compromise_! I might not always be sensitive but I put a hell of a lot into our relationship, but as soon as we’re in a fight, you forget all about that. Do you know what it’s like, arguing with you? Bob, you could argue a man to _suicide_!” he shouted.

Bobbi felt like she’d been smacked. “I can’t believe you just said that to me,” she said, and she felt a wave of emotions crash over her. The only thing she could make sense of was that she couldn’t look at him right now. “Get out. Now.”

“What?”

“I appreciate that you came here all of this way to try and fix us but I cannot look at you after what you just said to me. Get out of my house,” she said, and her voice was so calm it almost scared her.

Hunter grumbled something and left the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Bobbi stood in the middle of the empty apartment, waiting for tears. None came. She let out a slow breath, resting her head against the wall. Her heart hurt.

She could feel it. She could feel the end of her relationship and it hurt like a son of a bitch at the moment.

She knew it would be freeing. Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a few days she’d feel it. But at the moment all she could feel was that the boy she’d been dating since high school just walked out of her apartment, and she knew with almost 100% certainty he wouldn’t be coming back. Not as her boyfriend, anyway.

Bobbi had outgrown him. And their relationship. He was right. He tried more than she did. Sure, she gave more, and he could be real uncaring about some things, but he tried. He called her in the middle of the night to say he loved her. He came miles and miles just to visit her. She didn’t visit him.

It was time for her to get off of the rollercoaster.

She didn’t realize how long she’d been standing there, but all of a sudden she heard the door open. Both Jemma and Skye were home

“Bobbi?” Jemma asked. She sounded worried. “Is everything okay?”

Bobbi pulled away from the wall, looking at both of them. “Hunter and I broke up,” she said, crossing her arms. “And I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“I’m sorry, Bobbi,” Skye said, and Bobbi could tell she meant it. Which was unexpected, but appreciated.

“Let’s order pizza and watch Star Wars tonight,” Jemma said.

Bobbi nodded.

“I think I have something that can cheer you up,” Skye said, and started rummaging around the kitchen. Bobbi sat on the couch as Jemma called the pizza place. “Here!”

Skye set down a can of Cactus Cooler in front of Bobbi, who couldn’t help but grin.

“Where did you get this?” she asked.

Skye shrugged, finding the ‘Empire Strikes Back’ dvd and putting in the blu-ray player. “I keep a stash just in case you have a really bad day.”

Bobbi shook her head. “You’re a damn good roommate, Skye.”

“It’s true.”

Skye sat down on one side of Bobbi, and Jemma sat down on the other.

“You alright?” Jemma asked.

Bobbi have a half-shrug. “I think so. I knew we’d always butt heads but I never thought we’d actually call off our relationship. I guess I was wrong,” she said. She settled in against the couch then, popping open the can of Cactus Cooler. “It sucks. But there’s some thankfully rational part of me that thinks this is probably the right decision.”

\--

Being single didn’t feel different. Bobbi didn’t think it would, but it really didn’t feel different.

That was what really proved to her that her relationship had been half-alive for a while. If being with Hunter, long distance, felt the same as not being with him at all, that said a lot about their relationship.  
There was a logical part of her that wanted to be single a while, just so she could make sure she didn’t rush into anything. Another part of her that wanted a rebound to get it out of her system.

And then there was yet another part of her that wanted to run into Mack’s workshop, push him up against the counter and kiss him.

Look, Mack was a great friend. A really great friend. But he also could be a really good…something else. She knew their friendship had gained a flirtation at some point, and that she was way too fond of staring at him. She also knew that she’d opened up to Mack more than she’d ever opened up to Hunter.

All of those different parts of her didn’t matter though. Her academics didn’t allow her to do much else. Finals were coming up. Then she’d be home for a few weeks, stuck near Hunter, and away from her friends.

“You know, if you need to release stress, I’m sure Trip would be happy to-”

“I’m good, Skye. I can work this out with stress runs. I don’t really need to add a fourth body to your little ‘friends with benefits’ web,” Bobbi said.

Skye shrugged. “Alright. But the offer stands.”

She had about twenty minutes of peace before she got a text from Mack. He’d been great during her post-breakup funk. He didn’t pity her, didn’t pry. He just let her come hang out or vent when she had needed it, and now she was back on her feet.

_M: How’s studying?_

_B: Don’t ask. How’s your experiment?_

_M: No one’s here. Lots of work getting done._

She smiled, and he sent another text before she could even reply.

_M: Bored as hell._

_B: Say no more. I’m on my way._

In a few minutes, she was settled on the counter in his workshop, handing him whatever tool he requested.

She could feel herself all lit up as soon as she saw him. She tried to stop it, but she couldn’t. Even Mack noticed.

“What’s up with you? You were smiling like the sun when you came in. I mean I’m not complaining, just curious,” he said.

“Just a good day,” Bobbi said. “You excited to go home for the holidays?”

Mack shrugged, tinkering with the engine some more. “I’m ready for a break. But I’m also leaving stuff behind. Breaks aren’t exactly the same this time around as they were during undergrad.”

“Yeah, I bet it’s different.”

Mack paused, straightening up. Bobbi could see the oil on his hands and the way his shirt tightened against him and let her gaze linger. “What are you doing next Friday night? Do you have a final? Or are you heading home?”

Bobbi shook her head. “Nope. My last final is Friday morning, and I head home Saturday morning. Why?”

Mack sighed, scratching his jaw. “I have a department dinner on Friday. All of the others in the department, the faculty, some alumni. Lots of connections, lots of schmoozing, which I kind of hate.”

“Yeah that sounds awful.”

“Oh it will be. Which is why they gave us a plus one, I guess. To make sure no one falls asleep during dinner. Anyway, I figure, you’re fun, and you’re a damn impressive woman, I would only have to schmooze about half as much with you there. So if you’re free, what do you say? Help a friend out?” he asked.

“Wow you really know how to pitch an idea. I get to do all of your work for you and have to suffer through this too?” she asked, smiling. “Yeah, I’ll go. But you’ll owe me.”

“Deal.” He leaned forward, his eyes warm. “There are worse people to be beholden to, Barbara.”

Yeah, it was shit like this that made her want to press him up against the wall and kiss him until her lungs hurt. She wasn’t used to restraining herself. Not when she was with Hunter, not before Hunter. But Mack was her friend, so she found some semblance of self control.

\--

“So this is a date with Mack? Yes?” Skye asked.

“No!” Bobbi said, stepping into a pair of shoes with just the slightest heel. She didn’t usually get to wear heels. Mack was taller than her, though, so she was able to.  
“So what is it?”

“I’m helping him not die of boredom during a department dinner. Like a good friend would,” she said.

“So this dress…”

Bobbi rolled her eyes. “It’s a formal event,” she said, smoothing out the navy blue fabric.

“Oh. I didn’t realize there was so much leg involved in formalwear,” Skye said with a shit-eating grin. Bobbi’s glare was shooting daggers.

“I’m tall, sue me. It’s not inappropriate!”

“Not at all,” Skye agreed. “Just clings to you perfectly and is hot as hell.”

Bobbi let out an annoyed groan. “Do _you_ want to take me on a date? Or can you get off my back, now?”

Skye laughed and got off of Bobbi’s bed, resting her hands up on Bobbi’s shoulders. “You look great, Bobbi. Perfect for a formal, and beautiful. I’m just joking. Mack knows why you’re doing this. Knock ‘em dead.”

“Thanks,” Bobbi said. “Phil and Melinda picking you up tonight?”

Skye nodded. “Yeah…though it’s still weird you call them that. They’re my mom and dad.”

“Your mom taught me self-defense for like six years, you know that right?”

“We only just made that connection last year, Morse, its no excuse,” Skye said, laughing. She didn’t really seem to care. “Anyway, I’ll see you when we get back from break. Enjoy the relaxation.”

“You too,” Bobbi said and gave her one final hug.

Skye went back to her room to she could finish packing and Bobbi got ready for Mack to come.

She wasn’t nervous. She was going to be in a room of engineers and she spent a lot of time with one, and she was smart as hell. She’d hold her own just fine. She was kind of dreading certain parts of this dinner. If Mack thought it was going to be boring, she was in for a long, long evening.

Skye left to grab dinner, and just a few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Time to get this show on the road.

She opened the door and couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Mack looked good in suit and tie. Really good.

He gave an impressed nod when he saw her. “Well, Barbara, you clean up vey nicely.”

“Thanks. You’re not too bad yourself,” she teased, fiddling with the knot of his tie for a second. She really should’ve been more careful. She grabbed her handbag and closed the door behind her, locking it, so they could head out.

Mack had called a taxi already, and Bobbi was very thankful not to have to walk to the dinner in her heels.

When the taxi stopped, Mack took a deep breath and smoothed his collar.

“Nervous?” Bobbi asked.

“No,” he scoffed. “A little. I want to make a good impression, so I have my pick for thesis advisers next year. Plus, making connections with alumni could actually end up giving me a job in a few years.”

“You’ll be fine, Mack. You’re good at what you do. I would know, I spend an absurd amount of time in your lab. Now let’s go suck up to some professors, hm?” she said.

Mack laughed and got out of the car. She was about to open her door but he was already on her side, opening the door and extending his hand to her.

“What a gentleman.”

He held out his arm and Bobbi took it as they walked inside. The dinner was at a banquet hall at a hotel. That was nice. She hoped the Biochem dinners were this nice.

It was kind of a thrill, even though yeah, it was going to be long and boring. There was just something about it that made her feel like she was grown up. The people in here looked at her like an adult, not like a kid or a college student.

A few of Mack’s classmates sought him out to say hello.

“Alphonso,” a voice said. They both turned around and Mack smiled.

“Dr. Calder, it’s good to see you,” Mack said, shaking the older man’s hand. “This is Barbara Morse.”

Calder turned to her, shaking her hand as well with a warm smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr.”

“Pleasure’s all mine, Miss Morse. Are you also a student here?”

Bobbi nodded. “Yes, I’m an undergrad. I’m studying biochemistry. With a minor in criminology.”

“How interesting. I’m sure your professors are eager to see where that takes you. Those aren’t easy fields to balance. Alphonso, you surround yourself with very bright people.”

Mack laughed. “I think I just get lucky. Bobbi and I first met by running into each other. Literally,” he said.

“I stumbled. He caught me. I started hanging around his workshop, and we’ve been friends ever since. It’s an amazing project he’s working on. Have you seen it? He can tear apart and reassemble that engine faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. Yet I don’t have the patience to finish a 300 piece jigsaw puzzle,” Bobbi said, shaking her head Any of her friends would be able to detect the exaggerated friendliness, but Calder didn’t.

And sure, she’d glossed over and edited their story, but Calder seemed to like it by the way he laughed, and Bobbi knew Mack wouldn’t mind her doing it. Whatever got him through the night.

Mack excused them and they continued their rounds across the room. Some of the people they met Bobbi actually liked. Sometimes she had to feign interest and friendliness. She did a great job though. Everyone seemed to like her, or at least be thoroughly impressed by her. She wouldn’t normally care, but it was for Mack.

His hand found the small of her back, and she smiled up at him. “Want to take a break from the schmoozing?” Mack asked.

“Gladly.”

“Food or dancing.”

“Mm, I’m not hungry yet,” Bobbi said.

Mack nodded and led Bobbi to the dance floor in the middle of the room, where several couples were swaying gracefully. Mack’s hand fitted against Bobbi’s hip comfortably and she rested one arm up on his shoulder, sliding her other hand into his free one.

“You’re making a great impression,” Mack said. Then he laughed lowly. They were so close that Bobbi could feel it. “You’re upstaging everyone else. Maybe even me.”

“Oh shut up. You know they all love you.”

“Hey, I knew what I was getting into when I invited you,” he said.

“Utilizing my brains and charm?” she asked, mock offended.

Mack looked at her like she was being dumb. Which she was, on purpose. “That was a bonus. I knew I’d be bored out of my mind if you weren’t here. I asked you here for my own sake. No one else would make this bearable.”

Bobbi’s hand slid up his shoulder, resting above the back of his collar for a moment, running her fingers there at the edge, where the collar stopped and his skin showed.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’d be bored as hell.”

“Instead, we’re both half bored. Thanks for letting me steal some of your martini, by the way,” she smiled.

“Like I was going to make you suffer even more.”

He paused, letting go of her hip a moment to spin her. Once she was facing him again she laughed. He was full of surprises.

“Believe it or not, I’m not totally hating tonight. Its kind of fun. Of course, it would totally suck without you, but I don’t have to worry about that,” she said.

His thumb started drawing circles into her hip absently and heat seemed to spread out from where his finger was and crawl across her body. She shook her head and it stopped.

\--

It was one am when Mack walked her up to her apartment. His jacket was slung over his shoulder and he waited patiently as she dug around for her keys. It wasn’t like she could just knock on the door and wait for one of her roommates – Jemma had gone home yesterday, and Skye was definitely gone at this point.

“Thanks for tonight, Bobbi.”

She smiled, sliding the key in the door and letting it swing open as she looked at him. “It was my pleasure. I think we did some damage.”

“I agree. We impressed a hell of a lot of people.”

They stood in the doorway together, facing each other and Bobbi couldn’t help but laugh as she thought over the night. “I know. I think I could get a job in mechanical engineering after tonight.”

Mack shrugged. “Well, you’re smart, and you’re clever, which are different things, but you’re both in spades. Also charming, ” he said. “And then there’s that dress, which I’m sure no one is liable to forget.”

Maybe it was the fact that she’d siphoned off enough sips of Mack’s drinks to total a martini and a half for herself, but Bobbi felt her face get warm.

“It’s good, huh?”

“Yeah.”

She moved forward, stepping into his space, looking up at him through her lashes.

“Barbara.”

She reached up to unknot his tie, letting it hang loose around his neck. Bobbi smoothed her hands over his lapels. God, she wanted to lean up, just to see what would happen. If she would actually go for it, if he would even kiss her back. What it would be like.

She leaned back, though, cocking her head to look at him. “I have to go. I’m heading home pretty early and I haven’t packed at all,” she said quietly.

Mack nodded. “I should do the same. Thank you, for tonight. I owe you one, big time.”

Bobbi smiled. “Well, I look forward to cashing that in after break. I can’t wait to see you again.”

Mack wrapped his arms around her in a big hug and it was almost good enough. Almost. He started to walk down the hall towards the elevator and Bobbi stepped into the apartment, closing the door and resting back against it.

Thank god Skye wasn’t home right then. She’d never hear the end of it.

\--

Bobbi loved her family and her hometown, she did. But once Christmas was over, she was restless. Her brothers made things interesting, but she still missed her roommates and her other lovable, weird as hell friends.

She only ran into Hunter once over break, when she was out getting snacks before her parents’ New Years Eve party.

They hadn’t talked at all since he stormed out of her apartment. Not even a call on Christmas.

“Hi,” she said. He gave a small nod. “How are you?”

“Pretty good. Mum and Dad are dragging me to Isabelle and Vicky’s tonight, so that’s going to be a load of fun,” he said.

Bobbi laughed. “If you call her Vicky, you will be dead before the ball drops.”

Hunter scratched the back of his neck. “So, um, how are you doing, then?”

Bobbi pursed her lips, thinking over the past few weeks. Schoolwork wasn’t bad. She loved her friends. Then there was her whatever with Mack. “Can’t complain, if I’m being honest.”

“Are you…seeing anyone?”

She hesitated. “No,” she said. “I’m still single.”

Hunter gave a knowing look, smiling. “But there is someone. At least who you have your eye on. I know you, Bob.”

She smiled in spite of herself. “Yeah, you do. Look, Hunter, I know we left things on bad terms-”

“Awful terms. Shitty, really.”

“Thanks for the clarification. Anyway, I know this is a cliché as it comes, and it almost never works out, but I would like to try and be friends. Or at least…acquaintances,” she said, feeling like a giant idiot for even suggesting it. It was true though. Hunter had been in her life for so long, she didn’t want to lose him entirely.

“That is cliché. But I wouldn’t mind giving an attempt a friendship. Civility will at least be a nice change of pace from our other breakups,” he admitted. “I will need to add you again all across social media. I went on a deleting rampage after we broke up.”

“Real mature.”

Hunter shrugged. “Force of habit. I’ll see you around Bob.”

“You too, Hunter.”

She finished shopping and headed home. In a few hours the house was filled with people. She talked to them the way she talked to the people at Mack’s department dinner, though. It didn’t feel genuine. Not to her at least.

Bobbi kissed one of her brothers’ friends at midnight, just to try it out. It wasn’t bad. Almost nice. But it wasn’t…there was still something in her that was dissatisfied.

New Years was over too, and Bobbi went back to lounging around her house in pajamas, reading mystery novels.

When there was a week of break left, she felt like she was going stir-crazy. She had to get out. Stay out. For a while.

So her parents graciously let her go back to campus early, where she could hang out in her empty apartment and be lonely on her own, instead of being lonely surrounded by her loving family.

And hey, walking around her empty apartment in just underwear and her Star Wars shirt while she ate cereal and read about new experiments published by the crazy-smart professors at her school wasn’t so bad. There were a lot of worse ways to close out Winter break.

\--

She was in campus for two days when she saw that Mack had posted a picture where he was in front of a building she _definitely_ recognized.

Bobbi frowned at her phone.

_B: Are you back on campus?_

_M: I am. Came back to do some work. Pretty lame, right?_

Bobbi looked down at herself, in her pajamas, balancing a people magazine on her lap and a paused Lego Star Wars screen on the television.

_B: Could be worse._

_M: Maybe. But the school is dead._

_B: Not as dead as you think. I’m back, too._

_M: Seriously? Okay, that makes this better. Pizza later?_

_B: Hell yes._

She set down her phone so she could shower and get dressed, and when she came out, there was another text from Mack.

_M: Look out your window._

Bobbi furrowed her brow and leaned against her window. He was easy to spot when the rest of the green was empty and covered in snow. It was snowing out, and he was building a snow…something. He waved and Bobbi smiled to herself. She texted that she’d be down in a minute and got bundled up.

The cold was biting but she didn’t really care. She trudged across the green and threw her arms around him in a big hug.

“What the hell are you building?” she asked.

“It was supposed to be a snowman,” he said. She pulled away to look at his lopsided snow form and burst out laughing in spite of herself.

“Aren’t you supposed to be an engineer?”

“In my defense, you don’t engineer snow. I build machines, I don’t make sculpture,” he said. “It’s good to see you.”

Bobbi smiled and looked away from his creation and up at him. The snow was catching in her hair and eyelashes, but it didn’t obscure her vision.

“Same. I missed you,” she said.

“Last time we saw each other…” he trailed off and Bobbi remembered standing her in her doorway, looking up at him and knowing that she could just tilt her head up and brush her lips across his.

“Yeah. _Yeah_ ,” she said.

Look, she’d never been friends with a guy first. She’d never thought things through like this. Before, she’d always just followed her gut. Bobbi knew she’d spent enough time thinking about Mack at this point. It was time to start doing.

She let her lips brush across his once, a small warning of what was to come, and then she angled her mouth against his, melting against him. He was solid, and warm, and when he licked into her mouth, she was sure that she was about to float right off of the ground.

He kissed her like an adult. Like he knew what he was doing, what he wanted. With intention, but not as a means to an end. It was about the kiss, not about getting her in bed. One of her knees wobbled and his arm wrapped around her lower back, steadying her.

His reaction time had been so good that Bobbi couldn’t help but wonder how much he’d thought about it, wanted it.

When they pulled apart he pressed one more, quick kiss to her lips and he brought his hand up, stroking his thumb across the apple of her cheek.

“Mack.”

“Yeah, I know.”

She smiled and he lifted his thumb up for a second to wipe a snowflake from her eyelashes.

“How about instead of going to get pizza, we go back to my place, order in, and work this out?” she asked.

Mack smiled, his hand flexing against her waist. She felt so warm that she could hardly believe it was snowing. “Yeah, that sounds good. Though I’m not sure how much there is to work out.”

She pressed closer to him. She agreed, but still. God, Bobbi was so glad that she came back early. She had a whole week of this without Skye or Jemma teasing her at all.

“Well, we can talk later. But there are a few things I wanna do first,” Bobbi said with a crooked smile. Mack laughed and kissed her deeply again, one hand tangling in her hair in a way that made her whole body hum with anticipation.

\--

“Skye’s gonna be home soon,” Mack said.

Break was almost over and Bobbi had really enjoyed her time just with Mack. Though she was very excited to see her friends again. Right now, Mack was playing FIFA on the xbox while Bobbi leaned against him, stretched out on the couch and flipping through a book.

“I’m gonna miss laying around like this without her riding my ass,” Bobbi joked.

Mack bowed his head to kiss the top of hers. “You gonna put on pants?”

Bobbi shrugged. “Skye and I live together, nothing she hasn’t seen before.”

“No, but it will help her put two and two together faster.”

Bobbi sighed. He was right. She set down her book and got up, stretching. Mack’s had found her calf, stroking the skin there. She smiled and bent over, resting her hands on his knees as she kissed him languidly.

She’d never felt so relaxed in a relationship before. It was nice. It felt like home.

She put on pants, and just in time too, because the second she walked out the door opened and Skye and Jemma were back.

“You guys rode back together?” she asked.

They both ran over to hug her and she laughed. She really had missed them.

“Skye picked me up!” Jemma said. “Oh, hello Mack!”

“What’re you doing here, Teach?” Skye asked, plopping on the couch next to him.]

“Not your TA anymore, Tremors. Not this semester. You are someone else’s problem now,” he grinned, pausing his game. “Bobbi and I both got back early and campus was dead. So we killed some time together.”

Bobbi grinned to herself, but managed to hide it when Skye turned to look at her. “Have a fun break?” Skye asked.

Bobbi shrugged. “Holidays were celebrated. Families were gathered. All in all pretty good. I don’t have any complaints.”

“Did you run into Hunter?” Jemma asked.

Bobbi nodded, walking back over to the couch and sitting not quite as close to Mack as she had been before. “Yeah. Once. We’re gonna try and be friends. We’ll see how that goes.”

“Careful with that. I’m all for being friends with exes, but you and Hunter had a pattern, right? You don’t wanna slip back into that if you’re ever feeling, y’know, needy.” Skye said.

Bobbi smiled. “I think I’ll be fine,” she said, and felt Mack’s chuckle even though it was too quiet to hear.

Mack turned the xbox and the tv off and got up, stretching. Bobbi let herself stare at his arms as much as she wanted. Who cared?

“I’m gonna let you guys get settled. Also, I really need to go grocery shopping. See you all later,” he said.

Skye and Jemma both waved, heading to their rooms with their luggage. Bobbi walked Mack to the door. She stepped out into the hall with him, closing the door but not locking it.

“Guess our fun ends now,” she said.

“Oh yeah? Your friends are home and now I’m chopped liver? That’s not what we said the other day,” he said, with a teasing spark in his eye. He lifted his hands to her face and kissed her like he meant it – he never did any other way.

“So maybe-” Bobbi mumbled against his mouth before deepening the kiss again. “Our fun just changes a little,” she said in between kisses.

“I knew it! Jemma, you owe me twenty bucks!”

Bobbi and Mack pulled apart to see Skye standing the doorway, radiating triumph.

“Skye! You didn’t – did you…give them some space!” Jemma shouted from inside the apartment.

Skye rolled her eyes. “Sure.” She turned to face Bobbi and Mack, who were still a little shocked. “Oh, just get your ass back inside. You know you want to,” she said.

Mack laughed and looked at Bobbi, who shrugged. Then he took her hand and they walked back inside together.

“Guess we’ve been made,” he said, kissing the side of her head.

“Mmm, there are worse things,” she replied, leaning into him.

Sure, Skye and Jemma had found out before they had planned, it wasn’t the end of the world. She had her friends, she had Mack, and it was all so refreshingly grounding.


End file.
